SUMMARY OF EPISODE 7: CNN CHICAGOLAND

On April 17, 2014, CNN broadcast another episode in its continuing Chicagoland series. On the surface, the episode dealt with guns and gun violence. But, the episode wasn’t about guns. It was about poverty, gangs, and psychopaths running amok in Chicago’s poorer sections, and about criminals creating a living hell for residents. Still, CNN tried, unsuccessfully, to deflect attention away from the cause of crime and violence – violent criminals – and to direct attention to an inanimate object, the gun. The episode was repetitious. CNN shot the same scene at least three times: a crime evidence room filled with guns from floor to ceiling. CNN shifted focus tediously from prison to high school, to neighborhood. The message: guns are plentiful, criminal laws are weak, and psychopaths commit mayhem at will. A news reporter asked Police Superintendent, Garry McCarthy, whether McCarthy shouldn’t ask aid from the National Guard or Highway Patrol to restore order. The Police Superintendent dismissed the idea, asserting the City needed stronger criminal laws. Decidedly so, but, too, McCarthy had no intention of ceding control of his domain to outsiders. He made the point tacitly. What’s the point of this episode of Chicagoland? Violent criminals shouldn’t have access to guns and their punishment should be swift and sure. No kidding! CNN made that point in the first five minutes. It felt obliged to repeat the point for a solid hour. It retreated from script to film fun-loving, law-abiding Fenger High School students happily dancing at their Homecoming. They have a right to enjoy life too. No argument there.